Postpartum Depression – Very Dangerous and Frightening!!

She wasn’t always aware of her environment. Regrets about being stuck with two babies and putting all her life’s plan on hold. She didn’t complain but would cry in the shower.

One time her husband came home and complained that she was lazy, he said he brought home all the money and couldn’t figure out what she was doing the whole day sitting around with two babies and a maid. She apologized. He was bringing in a lot of money, but she knew she was doing her bit. It didn’t seem enough.

Soon she was walking on eggshells in her own home. A complete shadow of herself. Maid has started wearing makeup and bum shorts. She thought she saw hubby tap maid’s ass one day. She can’t be too sure. Reality and hallucination’s becoming one.

She said she thought she needed to see a therapist. She thought she was losing her mind. Hubby said she needs to get out more. Work out to lose all that weight he said. “I no longer find you attractive and I find myself admiring the maid,” he added.

She sends the maid away. Surely things would get better. With no extra help, a traveling partner, and a looming depression, she sinks deeper. Barely speaks, doesn’t see the children, no orgasmic sex. She is going through the motions now.

She comes up with a plan. Her plan gives her some relief. Thinking about this plan gives her strength to pull through her days. She is working out now, eating right, catering to her babies and planning to get back to work. Husband seems happy, finally something has touched her heart and she is back to herself.

That morning he gets ready for a trip. She is up telling him about how things will change for the better when he gets back. They are finally going to go back to how things were. He smiles saying he sees her tummy is snapping back. As he steps out the door, he notices her smile change to a frown but before he can comment, she is smiling again. She kisses him goodbye.

She enters her babies’ room, they are still sleeping. She wraps the baby up in a blanket and wakes the toddler up. She leads them to the kitchen, then opens up the freezer. First she places the baby in the freezer and she picks up her half-sleeping toddler and kisses him on the forehead as she lowers him into the freezer.

“It’s cold mummy,” he says as he looks up at her.

“I know baby, but it will be over soon.” she responds.

She shuts the freezer and sits on it. There are muffled screams and a struggle. She stares at the kitchen table until the screams stop. She gets off the freezer and goes to take a bath. She comes out of the shower and lays on her bed.

“When I wake up, I shall start life over,” she says as she drifts off to sleep.

What is Post Partum depression (PPD)?

As a wife that just gave birth, you are faced with multiples situations, one of which is getting used to the challenges that come with childbirth. You are also dealing with new responsibilities like lack of sleep, and physical changes in your body. What about the various body pains that come with childbirth; not to talk of the hot water therapy that one tries to do to put the female body back in shape.

The realization that a woman’s body may never be the same anymore coupled with the pressure of being a mom sometimes can lead to a dangerous case of Postpartum depression. Post Partum depression is also known as POST NATAL DEPRESSION.

Post Partum depression is so dangerous and deadly that a lot of people are oblivious to it.

This is the type of depression that comes when a woman just had a baby. Usually, the feeling comes between 3 weeks to 1 year of childbirth.

Women affected by the Post Partum depression usually feel sad, hopeless, and guilty that life will never remain the same again, and eventually they may lack the psychological ability to bond and connect with the newborn baby.

The bizarre thing about Post Partum depression is that it just does not happen to first time moms alone, you can be exposed to PPD even after giving birth to a lot of children.

10 things you should know about Post Partum depression

1 Post Partum depression is caused by the decrease in an increased hormonal level during pregnancy to childbirth.

What do I mean?

There is a sudden surge in a woman’s hormones during pregnancy. This surge drops sharply after childbirth; a sharp drop that can trigger depression. If you are a woman that depression runs in your family, then there is the potential that you may be exposed to Post Partum depression.

Not only that, prenatal depression, low self esteem before birth, severe premenstrual symptoms, previous case of miscarriage or still birth are a number of factors that increases the risk of having PPD.

Hey wait a minute, this is not to get you sad or jittery, but to make sure you are aware and check yourself/ wife/ sister/ daughter as soon as possible.

2 Lack of support from the husband during pregnancy and after childbirth, financial issues for a new mom, alcohol intake during and after pregnancy are strong pointers for Post Partum depression. You need to take this into cognizance and check yourself before it is too late.

3 Young women who lack the ability to take care of newly born babies can also be exposed to Post Partum depression.

4 That moment you start feeling sad about yourself, your baby, you are filled with despair then you need to check it. These are immense signs of Post Partum depression.

5 When a new mom cries a lot ( usually they just feel the gush of emotions, and they cry for just no reason), quickly lose interest in food, begin to see less of themselves (they lose interest in sex, and even self care). These are potential indicators of Post partum depression.

6 When you have a wife that sleeps too much, or a sibling who is a new mom that sleeps too much, hey, you need to check her out for Post Partum depression. Too much of sleep is a huge sign and now YOU KNOW!

7 Postnatal depression can be frightening and extremely dangerous, but there are effective treatments and medical support available to deal with this before it escalates beyond reach.

8 Hallucinations and delusions are huge signs of PPD. You suddenly begin to think the unreal and see the unseen. You begin to experience perception of something not present. This is huge and one needs to do appropriate check up before it becomes extremely deadly.

9 A lot of women do not realize they have Post Partum depression because it just does not suddenly start in a day, it develops over time.

10 We all know the effects of depression is suicidal, it can lead to a woman killing her baby ( as seen in the story above) or even committing suicide. It is so painful to note that a number of deaths from the end of new moms could be as a result of PPD. The painful realization is that people fail to see these signs until havoc have been caused.